To be fair it tends to be the 4khz range that goes first with presbecusis (4khz frequency of human speech, hence why old folk can have difficulty with voices and background noise) so a higher frequency bell should still be readily discrete enough to be detected. Some old giffers aee just grumpy. I find screaming at thw top of my voice or singing the go compare tune in a maniacal falsetto works wonders for clearing the trail of random old fuddy duddies

Refitted a bell about a month ago as the fireroad sections on our local patch have been full of families during the school hols. Just seemed good , safe manners.

Worst thing I find with dogs and owners is that you can weigh up where the dog is and choose a line, then, as you get beyond the point of hard braking with a successful outcome, the owner calls the otherwise safe and unconcerned dog and the poor bloody thing narrowly misses getting hit, owner gets irate, I get hacked off and start pedalling again.

As did the stupid woman that jumped out in front of me insisting I slow down so she could call back her dog that was running about on the bike path thru the forest in nature reserve with a keep dogs on a lead / under control sign. (I had already slowed, could see the dog, and more than capable of deciding where to go).

And then the noddy that told me I should have rung the bell... as he's pulling ipod earphones out of his ears, FFS. Bike bells should have a remote feature that kills the music on ipods and tells them to get out of the flippin' way if walking/jogging on a signed bike path.

Out for a gentle pootle back in June on the deeside way, a young couple engrossed in conversation walking along going my way, I call out a cheery hello as usual, and then repeat it (I don't do quiet), the lad looks round with a start and calls out a name, by this time i'm almost upon them. A large hairy thing lands on me, I land on the young lady as I am still clipped in. The lad looks confused and all I can profer is "lovely day". Large dogs hiding in bushes, good or bad?

Owner one side of the bridleway picking blackberries in the hedge. Dog the other side, exploring interesting smells at the bottom of the other hedge. It's only when you get really close that owner starts winding in about twenty feet of black nylon fishing line...

Same problem here in the US. Some walking 3 or 4 side-by-side like they're the only people in the world that use the trail. Headphones - sure. Dogs on lead - yep. Wandering back and forth across the trail - why not?

I generally mirror the attitude of the other trail users. If they're courteous, acknowledge the bell or whatever, I slow and say hello or similar. If they're in their own self centered little world, then I assume that its fine if I do the same and don't slow or do anything else to interrupt my ride.

I do an 'excuse me please, cyclist to your right' from about 20 ft in a loud and cheery manner.

Doesn't always work and some seem not to know left from right.

Only time recently I haven't done it was when a family were cycling towards me with walkers going away. I just slowed to a suitable speed to allow them both to pass each other - as they could see each other. Then I'd negotiate the walkers.

Inexplicably the cyclists slowed down to a virtual standstill so I had no way between them and the walkers. I didn't particularly feel the need to thank them for anything and received a tirade of abuse from the father.

a pleasant 40miles or so today and almost all on mixed use cycle paths almost without incident - the only totally unpredicted behaviour was a proper roadie unexpectedly using the entrance to a car park to pull of the road look out at the view and have a drink of water whilst sat across and at right angles to the off highway path - I dropped off the kerb behind him I can only assume my lack of team kit made me invisible

a helmetcam and a few cyclinggaz style questions would have been handy

The dog thing got me last night as well. Riding home along the canal towpath, not blatting along at all, just a nice steady ride. Every one of the dog walkers would invariably stand on the opposite side of the path to their dog. The up-until-then unconcerned dog would then stop, look at the owner and decide to join it (or, worse, the owner would call it over) and the stupid mutt would then run right in front of me.

Now I like dogs but I'm sensible enough to give it a clear order and to be on the same side of the path.

Same with walkers, you get a couple walking along and rather than both move to one side, they dither - one goes one way, one the other way to stand on opposite sides. Then you get the case where the wife suddenly decides to join her husband just as husband has exactly the same thought and tries to join his wife - result is that they move straight back into the path!